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We the People

The Next Big Second Amendment Case?

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.61.1K Ratings

🗓️ 29 August 2019

⏱️ 46 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The upcoming Supreme Court case New York Rifle and Pistol Association v. the City of New York could be the first major Second Amendment case in almost a decade. It centers around a New York City regulation prohibiting residents from taking their guns to second homes and shooting ranges outside the city, even when the guns are unloaded and separated from ammunition. New York’s NRA affiliate and some gun-owning residents challenged the regulation, but, in the midst of litigation, New York City changed it – raising the question of whether the case was now “moot”. And, Senate Democrats filed a controversial brief addressed to the Supreme Court warning that they might pursue structural reform of the Court if they don’t like the outcome in this case. Detailing the twists and turns of the case and its potential impact on the Second Amendment – Adam Winkler of UCLA Law School and Ilya Shapiro of the CATO Institute join host Jeffrey Rosen.   Here’s some vocabulary that may be helpful to know this week:   Mootness: A case becomes moot if the conflict, or the law at issue, that was present at the start of litigation no longer exists.   Judicial review doctrines: A judicial review test is what courts use to determine the constitutionality of a statute or ordinance. There are three main levels in constitutional law:   Strict scrutiny: For a law to survive a court’s review under strict scrutiny, it must be narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling government interest Intermediate Scrutiny: A level down from strict scrutiny. The law must be substantially related to an important government interest. Rational basis review: The most deferential kind of review to the legislature. A law only has to be “rationally related” to a “legitimate” government interest.  Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Transcript

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0:00.0

I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome

0:07.5

to We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.

0:11.0

The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress to increase

0:16.4

awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.

0:21.2

On today's episode, we revisit the Second Amendment and dive into the upcoming Supreme Court

0:26.5

case New York Rifle and Pistol Association versus the City of New York. This is a case that centers on a New York City regulation that

0:35.3

forbids residents from taking their guns to second homes and shooting ranges

0:39.1

outside the city even when guns are unloaded and separated from ammunition.

0:43.5

The law, which New York has since repealed,

0:45.8

is being challenged by New York's NRA affiliate

0:48.4

and some gun-owning residence.

0:50.7

Here to explore the case that could become the court's first major Second Amendment ruling in almost a decade,

0:58.0

are two of America's leading Second Amendment experts and two great friends of We The People.

1:02.0

Adam Winkler is Professor of law at UCLA law school.

1:05.8

He is author of Gun Fight, the Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America,

1:09.6

as well as the Interactive Constitution's Second Amendment explainer, which listeners should check

1:15.1

out before or after, but not during, listening to the podcast.

1:18.9

Adam, thank you so much for joining.

1:20.9

Thanks so much for having me, Jeff. Andelia Shapiro is director of the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute.

1:28.6

He is one of the authors of Cato's Amicus brief written on behalf of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association

1:34.7

Ilia it is wonderful to have you back on the show good to be back let's begin as

1:39.4

Professor Kingsfield says with the facts and they're especially important here because

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